Chapter 471: Seven Demon Kings

Chapter 471: Seven Demon Kings

Everyone knew the correct answer, so Demon General Typhoon could not even make the audience guess. He smiled in exasperation and said, “That’s right! The sound made by the Heavenly Passage Pillar made it clear that Jiang Cheng’s attack was stronger. That is why the champion of the second round is Jiang Cheng! Zhao Wuji’s performance was, of course, excellent too, so he takes second place. He will receive ten thousand Heavenly Passage Pills, and Jiang Cheng wins thirty thousand Heavenly Passage Pills!”
Thirty thousand! Everyone stared at Long Chen with admiration.
With such a large sum, he would not need to worry about his cultivation or livelihood for a very long time. Heavenly Passage Pills were basically almighty. As long as one had Heavenly Passage Pills, they would have everything else.
Of course, Long Chen had won them using his own capabilities, so no one objected.
“Alright, it is almost the end of our qualifiers. The second round has ended. Everyone else, please leave Ancient Demon Domain using the same path. As for the remaining seven hundred, you all will enter the most crucial round. Once you pass this round, you will be a respected Ancient Demon Domain disciple!” announced Demon General Typhoon.
There was only one round left. All the remaining participants were extremely anxious. But after they gritted their teeth and thought about it, they knew that their lives would change drastically as long as they passed. This was the most important crossroads of their lives. Only one in ten people would advance, so why not give it all they had?
The crowd was filled with battle spirit.
“After the second round, your serial numbers aren’t in sequence anymore, so you must take a new number! I will then announce the rules of the third round!”
A disciple brought out a large box. This box was sealed, but there was a fist-sized hole on top. It was completely black inside.“There are seven hundred pieces of paper inside, and every piece has a number. Everyone! Take a number! Remember this—you’re forbidden from exchanging numbers with someone else! If you do so, you will be disqualified immediately. The Ancient Demon Domain has thousands of prodigies; we won’t miss you!” Demon General Typhoon warned sternly.
Have we finally reached the last round? The Ancient Demon Domain is indeed a super faction. Even the qualifying event is this elaborate. A regular person really could never join them. Perhaps this event also guarantees a constant supply of prodigies, thought Long Chen.
With his current abilities, he was only somewhat confident he could beat a Fourth Passage Stage cultivator, but cultivators at the Fifth Passage Stage and above were beyond his level. There were thousands of people beyond the Fifth Passage Stage in the Ancient Demon Domain itself.
In an environment filled with such powerful people, victors will rise quickly, but the weak will die or get disqualified. I really need to risk it all this time. Long Chen steeled himself.
This time, it was Huangfu Qi’s turn. After she took her number, he took his own. The number “1” was written on his piece of paper.
“Big Brother, mine says ‘2!’ Mine says ‘2!’ What about you?” Huangfu Qi looked up excitedly.
“One,” he said truthfully.
“How coincidental! Jiang Cheng, it looks like the heavens aren’t standing on your side,” said a voice laced with venom.
Long Chen did not need to turn around to know that it was Zhao Wuji.
“What do you mean by that?” asked Long Chen.
Zhao Wuji flashed the paper in his hand, which also showed “1,” and said, “You’ve run out of luck.”
There were one hundred number ones in the box, so it wasn’t at all unusual for them to get the same number.
Long Chen ignored him. If they really were paired together, he did not mind beating him up.
By now, everyone had their number.
“Now, I shall take you all to a new place—the Martial Arena of the Ancient Demon Domain!” Demon General Typhoon led the remaining seven hundred people away.
Very soon, they arrived in a narrow valley, and after they passed it, the space ahead opened into a flat basin surrounded by medium-sized gray hills.
Upon arrival, Long Chen sensed that there were countless masters hidden within the surrounding hills. These people were likely Ancient Demon Domain disciples here to watch the show, perhaps even people of higher status.
Long Chen and the rest felt a terrifying pressure with so many people present. Long Chen knew that there were many old and powerful people in the Ancient Demon Domain, including the seven Demon Kings, who were at the Earthly Martial Realm.
Cultivators at the three Martial Realms were on a whole different level, far above the four foundational realms.
Then Long Chen saw several black stages in the space ahead. When he counted them, he realized that, like the pillars, there were seven of them. The seven stages were arranged in the shape of the seven-starred big dipper constellation. One black-clothed person stood on each stage, and all of them were of varying ages, gender, and look. The only similarity was the terrifying aura that radiated from them.
Demon General Typhoon hurriedly knelt on the ground and said with a sincere look on his face, “Greetings, Your Majesties the Seven Demon Kings!”
“Greetings, Your Majesties the Seven Demon Kings!” When other people saw his greeting, they quickly knelt as well. Long Chen did not want to stand out like a stork among chickens, so he also pulled Huangfu Qi down to kneel.
“Seven Demon Kings, these are the seven hundred candidates who showed great potential after the filtering process. After this final round, we will be able to choose seventy excellent candidates to join your pavilions!”
One of the Demon Kings said, “Typhoon, you may get up. Everyone, get up. The seven of us are only here to recruit disciples. We won’t interfere with the selection process, so just follow the standard procedures.”
Then they all retreated and left the seven black stages.
Behind the stages were eight extravagant seats made of black metal. There was one empty chair in the middle, and the seven Demon Kings sat in the seven chairs on either side of it. Long Chen guessed that the center seat belonged to the Demon Emperor, Jiang Wuxie.
With the permission of the Demon Kings, the crowd stood up and Demon General Typhoon brought them to the stages. He leaped onto one stage and surveyed the seven hundred young faces. “It was difficult for you to make it to this point. First, I would like to congratulate all of you; you all have done well. But the world is forever cruel! You must endure another ten-to-one elimination before you can reach your final goal and pass the most important test of your lives!
“First, let me explain the rules. Every person has a piece of paper with a number that matches a stage. There are seven stages, so there will be a hundred people on each one. The rules are simple. When there are only ten people left standing on your stage, and you find that you are one of them, you will be an Ancient Demon Domain disciple! Young ladies and gentlemen, everything depends on the last test!”
Demon General Typhoon’s words fanned the flames of passion.
“Ten people will remain on each stage, so the seventy of you will receive the most important reward—becoming an Ancient Demon Domain disciple, and also a thousand Heavenly Passage Pills!”
A thousand?
The crowd erupted with excitement. The top three of the first round had only received two thousand Heavenly Passage Pills each. If they passed this round, they would receive a thousand! It was clear how rich the Ancient Demon Domain was.
“Of course, since the past two rounds had three top places, then the third round will have the same format! However, those who end up in eighth to seventieth place will receive a thousand pills. Fourth to seventh place will receive five thousand Heavenly Passage Pills each! Third place, ten thousand Heavenly Passage Pills. Second place, thirty thousand Heavenly Passage Pills. First place will receive sixty thousand Heavenly Passage Pills!”
The highest reward was sixty thousand Heavenly Passage Pills. This meant that if Long Chen came out in first place on the last round, he would win a total of one hundred thousand Heavenly Passage Pills today!
Everyone drooled over the rewards!
“Of course, the Heavenly Passage Pills are only part of the reward. The top seven will become the direct disciples of the seven Earthly Martial Realm Demon Kings!
“The seven Demon Kings are also the Pavilion Lords of the seven pavilions in the Ancient Demon Domain. All of them are ranked just beneath the Demon Emperor, and ranked above ten thousand people. Becoming their disciple guarantees great success, so everyone, take this seriously!” Demon General Typhoon said excitedly.
“Lord Demon General, won’t the battle royale merely produce seventy winners? How will you determine the top seven and top three?” a teenager asked, puzzled.
“That’s simple!” Demon General Typhoon smiled. “Once the ten winners of each stage are decided, they will have another free-for-all until only one person remains on the stage. That person will be one of the top seven! The winners will become their respective stage’s sole finalist, and all finalists will become the seven Demon Kings’ direct disciples. There will then be a final battle, so the third to last to leave will come in third, the second to last to leave will come in second, and the final person remaining will be the champion!”
Luck seemed to play a huge part with this ruleset. However, only a strong person would be able to remain standing.
Out of the seven hundred people, the final person standing would be the absolute champion!
Long Chen smiled. So, the last round was a battle royale. It was no wonder Zhao Wuji had said that Long Chen was going to die. But who would die in the end?
He looked up at the seven Demon Kings behind the stage.
Those Earthly Martial Realm cultivators radiate an arrogant and immense power, while Ling Xi’s family radiated an energy that is mysterious and terrifying. This means that her grandmother is stronger than them. However, the seven Demon Kings still look quite scary. They live up to their reputation as the top cultivators of the Divine Martial Empire!
Under Demon General Typhoon’s instructions, everyone started to climb onto the martial stages.
They would also be performance stages.